Reflections
by DJ Dynamite
Summary: (Rewrite) A KOTOR story. The most notorious smuggler in the Outer Rim Territories is mysteriously and reluctantly drafted to be part of an unknown mission. However, she is suddenly thrust into the center of a devastating war that's tearing the galaxy apart. As she's still trying to figure out who she is, will she help save the galaxy, or destroy it?


_**Author's note: Hey, folks, it's me once again. Wow, it's been nearly four years since I posted anything here, and there's a good reason for that. I'll let you all in on a little secret. For nearly the last five years, I had been developing and then writing a completely original novel. I've done originals before, but this is the first one I seriously hope to get published. I will not mention an official synopsis just yet, but I will say that the genre that would fit it best would be historical epic fantasy. I will also say that while elements of it had definitely been done before, the way I brought them all together in my story had not been done before, or if it had, I certainly never heard of it, and neither had anyone else. At this time, I probably told about fifty people about my story and read samples to them, and every single one of them loved it and want more. One of them is a literary expert who wrote many published stories himself that I'm constantly in contact with, and he knows many people out there who would eat my story up and ask for more. Now I absolutely have to finish the story or those people might literally kill me. So wish me luck. Oh, and before anyone asks, no, it is definitely not some repurposed and repackaged fanfiction that shall remain nameless that was somehow published to make a quick buck (coughfiftyshadesofgreycough) so don't fear.**_

_**Not onto this story. This was something that I wanted to do for a while. For those who are new, I posted eleven chapters of this story before I stopped work, and looking over it, I couldn't believe how many mistakes I made; spelling errors, incredible contradictions within the story, etc. As it was simply too much to just go back and change everything, I figured the best thing to do was just stop, scrap the whole thing, and start over. So here it is: the new, improved version of the story Reflections. The usual disclaimer: Star Wars is the property of Disney now (funny) and Knights of the Old Republic is the property of BioWare and the now defunct LucasArts (thanks Disney). So enjoy the story.**_

**A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...**

**Prologue**

**A small Republic military base on Daagon**

**Vruuna System, Vendusii Sector, Mid Rim Territories**

**GSC year 21096 (3957 BBY)**

**Two and a half years into the Jedi Civil War**

First, there was the darkness, the infinite blackness that seemed to be so deep, so absolute, that nothing could ever possibly exist inside it. However, ever so slowly, though there was no way to tell how much time would pass, patches of gray began to appear within that total darkness. More unknown time would pass before visions started appearing inside those gray patches. However, the visions weren't making any kind of sense. They were fractured and jumbled, as well as fading into and out of each other. They were also moving too fast for me to see any details. Also, I seemed to have been experiencing the ultimate mood swings, as my emotions were going in every direction so fast and sudden that there was no way to tell how I really was feeling. Everything was just so confusing and unknown. What was happening to me? Where was I?

Suddenly, a single, clear vision pushed its way through the swirling mess inside my head and immediately established dominance. Unlike everything else, this particular vision wasn't jumbled or didn't instantly fade away, but instead played though my mind like a normal memory. However, just like the others, it didn't make sense. I could see and hear things, but for some reason I still couldn't understand anything. I think maybe frustration should've been the feeling I needed to have at that moment, but since my actual feelings were all over the place right then, I might as well been unable to feel anything at all.

In this strange vision, I could see that I was in some kind of room, but there was really no way for me to tell more than that. From what I could see, I seemed to be behind something. There was a clear object in front of me. A tank, maybe? Probably. Also, this tank, if it was even one to begin with, looked to be filled with some kind of thick fluid that was equally as clear. I knew that this fluid was supposed to do something, but I couldn't remember what.

As for seeing all this, that was another thing that was so strange. I could somehow sense that I was completely unconscious and that my eyes were closed. If that was really the case, then why could I see and hear things as though I was awake and aware? Was this vision actually a dream? What was going on?

While this was happening, four people suddenly appeared outside of the tank and into my field of vision. One of them was a man that was wearing mostly white clothing. The other three, two men and a woman, were wearing loose white and brown clothing. While I felt nothing towards the man in the white clothes, for some reason, it was the other three that were practically drawing my complete attention. Why this was the case, I didn't know. There was something about them, though, something that made me feel as if I should know those people, but yet for some reason, I didn't. I also had a strong feeling that they had something to do with the reason why I was at some unknown place, but again, I couldn't figure it out. The answers seemed to be there, but no matter how hard I tried, they weren't coming to me. It was like jumping and stretching to try to get something, only for it to dance just out of reach every time you did that. It was maddening beyond belief.

The four people were looking directly at me for a while before they began to speak. I knew that I was unconscious and shouldn't have been able to hear, let alone see anything, especially in that tank or wherever I was, but yet when they began to talk, I could see and hear them so perfectly that I might've as well been standing right next to them amidst their conversation.

"_**You are very lucky you brought her in when you did. Fifteen minutes later and she would've been dead. However, we can't even figure out how she was alive to begin with when you carried her in here. This is without doubt the greatest and yet most mysterious medical miracle that I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of medical miracles in my career. From everything these scanners and my own eyes are telling me, there's no way she should be alive. All these injuries were from a freighter crash? I could see why there were no other survivors, but there would've been none if you didn't save her in time."**_

"_**Yes, it was perhaps the will of the Force that guided us through that system at that very moment to pick up the distress beacon. We found her in what was left of the rear cargo bay of the ship. There was just the faintest spark of life left in her, but we were able to stabilize her enough to rescue her and bring her here as this was the closest base with a medical area advanced enough to possibly heal her."**_

"_**Yes, most of our equipment was installed to help wounded soldiers who fought in the war with the Mandalorians and now this current war. It's nice to see all this being used to help a civilian for a change. Speaking of which, we heard there was a massive fleet engagement about a hundred light years from here, possibly involving Darth Revan's forces. Do you know anything about that?"**_

"_**It's true that Republic forces intercepted and engaged a powerful Sith fleet, but as for Darth Revan, we are unaware of the Sith Lord's status for the moment. We hope to find out soon. Going back to your patient here, will she be alright?" **_

"_**Her current chance for recovery is good, but there's still enough of a chance that she could slip back the other way. We can't call it for about two days at least. But there's already something that we can pretty much guess at right now."**_

"_**What's that, Doctor?"**_

"_**Her minor injuries are definitely healing and her major ones appear to be as well, although we won't know for sure until tomorrow, but her brain sustained massive trauma. We can repair it, but we can't tell if there's any long term damage to her mind, not until she regains consciousness. It's possible, maybe even a certainty, that she'll have some sort of amnesia. Whether it's long or short term or even if she has it at all, I can't say yet. Again, we'll have to wait until she wakes up to know for sure."**_

"_**I'm sure you and your staff are doing your very best."**_

"_**Thank you, though we do our very best to save everyone who comes through here, even when we know there's no real chance of them making it. Luckily, that doesn't seem to be the case here, thanks to your timely intervention. I would've hated to hear about such a beautiful young woman dying all alone on an isolated moon without anyone knowing where she was. That's not to say the deaths of her crewmates is less worse, of course. She kind of reminds me of my own daughter. Speaking of which, we seem to be unable to find relatives or friends of hers. Is it possible for your people to help with that? Someone out there has to know her."**_

"_**I'm sorry to say that the war takes top priority over everything else right now, but if we can spare some time, we'll make an effort to reunite her with familiar people. I suppose, in some way, we're responsible for her now."**_

"_**Well, if it turns out that she has no family or friends, then I can't think of better people to take care of her than you. I'm sure she'll be in good hands. Anyway, there's other business I must attend to. You are welcome to stay as long as you like. Maybe our patient here will enjoy the company."**_

"_**Thank you, Doctor. You've all been such a great help. If her condition changes while you are away, we'll let you know."**_

The man in the white clothes left and the three others continued to stand there and look at me. They remained quiet for quite a while and I thought that everything was over. However, though, they soon began to speak once again, but this time to each other and in very hushed tones. Once again, I was able to hear their every word with perfect clarity.

"_**I don't like this plan the Masters have in mind. Too much can go wrong. Perhaps it would've been better to let her die on her ship."**_

"_**You know that's not our way. If a person still lives after being badly injured, we'll try to save them. Every person deserves a second chance, no matter how terrible his or her crimes had been. It's no different for her." **_

"_**Yes, I know that's true, but can we really afford to take that chance with her? We all know what she's capable of. What if she doesn't have amnesia and remembers exactly who she is when she wakes up? How would she react to that? She could lash out and kill dozens of innocent people. She may even become more powerful and ruthless than ever before."**_

"_**We don't know that. We must have faith and trust in the greater wisdom of the Masters and the Force. They know what they're doing. Besides, I'm not sensing the Force from her anymore. Perhaps her terrible injuries cut her off from it."**_

"_**But she's proven that she doesn't even need the Force to kill. She's a master at many forms of martial arts. She knows many ways to kill with just her hands and feet. Not to mention there's always a chance that the Force will return to her. I still say she's too dangerous to be kept alive. She still represents the greatest threat to the galaxy, and we're sworn to eliminate those threats. This is most likely the best chance we'll ever have. We should do so now while there's still time."**_

"_**We will do no such thing, and you will remember your place and control your emotions, Padawan."**_

"_**Of course. My apologies."**_

"_**I'm afraid I must agree with most of the concerns of my companion. I don't like this plan as well. I feel that it goes against the Code."**_

"_**We have no other choice. We must know what she knows. It might be the only thing we have left if we are to have a real chance of winning this war. At the same time, she can have the chance of a new and normal life without ever knowing who she really is and what crimes she had done."**_

"_**Perhaps, but I can't help but feel that we're making a terrible and possibly fatal mistake."**_

"_**Both of your concerns are noted, but the Masters have spoken and we will abide by their decision. End of discussion. Now come, we must prepare for their arrival."**_

As the three of them turned to walk away, the vision began to fade and fragment and was soon lost, only to be replaced once again by the rapid and jumbled visions and sounds as before. Once again, I seemed to have been floating in some black and dark gray endless abyss while pieces of visions and sound swirled around me, almost like being caught in a great vortex. It was the ultimate limbo, where everything was meaningless and nothing made any sense. There was literally no way to measure time. It could've been moving fast, slow, or not at all for all I knew. There didn't seem to be a way out of this maelstrom. I didn't know where to go or even what to do.

Once again, however, something began to emerge inside my shattered mind. This time, though, it wasn't a vision, but something else. It was like a...feeling, perhaps? Yes, I think that was it. But what feeling was it? I couldn't tell. Whatever it was, it seemed to appear out of nowhere inside my head and grew slowly but steadily. It soon got to the point where although I still couldn't tell what this unknown feeling was, it did seem to me like it was something bad, like it was trying to warn me. It was practically screaming that something terrible was about to happen to me. I was about to be violated. I couldn't let that happen. I didn't want them to touch me, didn't want them to hurt me...

My eyes flew open as I suddenly and instantly regained consciousness. The light entering them was so bright that I couldn't see anything at first. Once they cleared, I could see that I was submerged in some kind of clear fluid. I thought about what it was called, but I couldn't remember. Was it...kollo? Or maybe it was kelto? I didn't know. A mask was covering my nose and mouth, obviously so I could still breathe. I also could see that I was inside a cylindrical shaped clear tank that was barely wider than my body. Trying to peer through the tank, I could see that I was in a room of some sort, but both the fluid and the glass of the tank were distorting the image enough that I couldn't tell exactly what kind of room it was, not that I probably would've been able to anyway with all the chaos happening inside my head. It also didn't help that my long hair was floating lazily around my head and face and in many cases into my eyes. The only thing that seemed certain was that not only the feeling that I was having was getting stronger, but it was joined by several others. If I could describe them, I think they were...anger, betrayal, and scared. I felt confined, trapped, and very much in danger. Even though I still didn't know why, I knew that I had to escape the tank, the room, and wherever I happened to be.

I was able to move my arms and placed my hands on the glass. I then slowly moved them across the surface, feeling for a way out of the tank. I didn't feel anything other than completely smooth glass. Moving to another part of the tank, I felt around there as well. Again, no such luck. I felt around much of the tank that I could, but couldn't find anything that would let me out.

At that point, the feelings that I was having grew to such a point that I was actually starting to feel total panic, and that was starting to make the tank feel much smaller, like it was threatening to crush me. It made me begin to move violently, thrashing about with my hands and feet hitting the glass as hard as I could make them. It did no good. What was worse, my extreme movements had made the mask slip off my face and I began inhaling the fluid directly. It felt like I was drowning. Now actually terrified, I made one last desperate attempt to escape. I balled my right hand into a fist and punched the tank with all the strength that I had. My fist went right through it, immediately causing the rest of the tank to shatter into pieces. The fluid spilled over the floor and took me with it.

I was only on the floor for just a few seconds before I felt my stomach begin to churn violently. I was quickly up on my hands and knees before I started vomiting the fluid that I had ingested onto the floor underneath me. Even when my stomach purged all the fluid out, it kept spasming and I was dry heaving very painfully. Eventually, the spasms and heaving stopped and I was able to sit up on my knees, gasping for air. My damp hair that was once floating free around me was now hanging over my face like a black shimmering veil. I wrapped my arms around me as I started to shiver badly. It was the combination of the coolness of the room, some of the thick fluid that was still sticking to my skin, and the fact that I was only in my underwear, wet underwear at that, and nothing else other than a white tag that was wrapped around my left wrist. Maybe the fact that I was still scared added something to that as well. I looked at the tag around my wrist and rubbed my hand along it for a few moments before I tore it off and flung it aside. I had no idea why I did that, but I felt like I needed to.

I moved my hair out of my face and looked up to see where I was. The room that I was in was pretty sizable, not big but not small either. There were machines with screens, buttons, and flashing lights all over the room. Many of them were making different sounds. There were four beds along the wall opposite of me. By the back wall, there were five tanks, four now since the one in the center was the one that I broke out of. All of them had nobody inside and were empty of the fluid. I knew that this room had some kind of name, but I couldn't remember it. All that I knew was that it had something to do with...healing, I think? That was probable.

I took the next few minutes to think about my situation, well, actually trying to think about _anything, _but nothing was coming to me. The only thing that was really certain was that I was in a lot of pain, especially in my chest area. It hurt greatly with every breath I took. There was also some pain in my head and a few other parts on my body. I couldn't remember what happened to me, couldn't remember my own life, and couldn't even remember my own name. It was like my entire mind had been erased. The feelings of panic were starting to return, but I also seemed to be developing a sense of determination. I needed to get out of here and figure out who I was and what happened to me.

I then slowly began to rise to my feet, although I nearly collapsed to the floor again as a combination of nausea, pain, and weakness in my leg muscles threatened to overwhelm me. I waited until the feelings disappeared, or lessened enough that I could feel comfortable moving. Once I was able, the first things I turned my attention to were the remaining four tanks. I slowly began to walk towards them, ignoring the pain in my right leg as I did so. When I was standing directly in front of them, I just gazed at them, wondering what exactly were these tanks were used for and why I was inside one of them. Were they being used to help me...or hurt me?

Slowly, and almost unconsciously, I reached up with my hand and touched one of them. The very moment that I did, there came an instant and extreme rush of emotions that flooded into my mind. I remembered the helplessness, the terror, and the feeling of drowning that I felt inside the tank as I couldn't escape it. Suddenly, I didn't feel like myself, not that I was to begin with, anyway. For some reason, I began to see these tanks as the enemy, and I was determined not to let anyone else experience what I went through earlier.

The hand that was resting on the tank became a fist and I began pounding on the tank with as much force as I could. Nothing happened at first, but eventually my continued pounding put a crack in it. A few more blows and the entire tank broke apart. Not stopping at all, I moved to the next one and continued where I left off, hitting it until it also shattered, as well as doing the same to the third a few minutes later. By the time I got to the fourth and last one, my hand was hurting very badly and my heavy panting wasn't doing my chest any favors. I ignored all that however and started my work on the fourth tank.

I had only managed to get a couple of hits in when I heard a noise behind me. Quickly turning around, and feeling very dizzy when I did, I saw that the door to the room had opened and two men in white clothing were walking in. One of them was holding something in his hands and both of them were looking down at it while talking to each other. They didn't even notice me standing there at first, but once they looked up and saw me, they stopped dead in their tracks. The man dropped the object he was holding, which clattered loudly when it hit the floor.

"What in the...?" one of them spoke in total surprise. "What are you doing out of the kolto tank? You're not fully healed yet. And what have you done to the others?"

I could see their mouths moving and I heard their words as they spoke them, but my mind, already chaotic, also seemed to have a thick haze in it as well. It was like I could understand them, and yet, _not _understand them at the same time, if that made any sense. Nothing else did, anyway. What I did seem to understand somewhat was these two men had some connection to what happened to me. I had no idea what that was, but I wasn't going to take any chances, and I wasn't going to give them the opportunity to try again. I picked up a large piece of broken tank and then backed up against the nearest wall, holding the shard out in front of me like a weapon.

"Whoa, wait a second," the other man said, holding up both hands. "Please calm down, miss. We're not going to hurt you. Please don't be frightened of us. We only want to help you. You were involved in a major freighter crash and was critically injured. I know things must be incredibly confusing to you right now, but please believe me when I say that we wish nothing more than to help you fully heal and recover from your injuries. So please put that down and trust us, Ms. Kastran."

Kastran? Was that my name? I tried to think through the haze, trying to see if that name brought up any memories, or just _anything _at all. Nothing appeared. So who was I? Where did I come from? What did I do? Did I have friends, family, a significant other? I looked directly into the eyes of the men in front of me. How much did they know about me? Were they lying? They had no reason to, but if you had no memories at all, then they could tell you anything they wanted and it could be as much truth as was a lie. It was for that reason that I didn't trust them and probably never would, but if they did know something, then I had to know.

"N...n...na...name," I managed to just barely murmur out. It was the only word that I seemed to be able to speak. Could I form more words? It seemed like even though I could just barely understand what the men were trying to say to me, I had extreme difficulty just trying to form the words inside my mind, let alone trying to speak them. It was extremely frustrating.

"Name?" The two men looked at each other as if they also were confused.

Even with the haze, I knew I had to try again. I pointed to myself and spoke once more, just barely louder than last time. "Name."

"Oh, you mean your name," one of them spoke as he seemed to understand. "It's understandable that with your head trauma, things must be be extremely confusing to you now. We can help you start to remember right now if you wish."

He started to move towards a nearby shelf. I held the shard in his direction and watched his every move in case he tried to do something I didn't like. He reached out and picked up a small flat object. He held it up and tapped on the front of it a few times. It made a small beeping noise and he once again spoke.

"Here's what little we know about you now. Your name is Solara Kastran. You are twenty-four years old. You're from the planet Deralia, although we have yet to find any information on your relatives, friends, or possible spouses. You work for a small independent shipping company as a freighter pilot. The ship you were on was making a delivery run to the planet Kothlis when it suffered a critical failure in its propulsion system and had to attempt a crash landing on one of the moons of the gas giant Vereldan. You were the only one out of a crew of seven to survive the crash, but you were critically injured. Your were less than an hour away from death when a passing ship belonging to the Jedi discovered the wreckage, found you inside, and brought you here. This is a medical facility inside a Republic base, by the way, and-"

Jedi? Republic? I didn't know why, but these two words were the only ones able to cut through the heavy fog that was plaguing my mind, and just hearing them filled me with intense, practically overpowering emotions. Incredible rage and hatred, and it was all directed at the two men. No, not just them, but..._everything...everyone. _I couldn't understand why that was happening. What was making me so enraged like that? But then, suddenly, something seemingly became quite clear. It was _them. They _had somehow hurt me, and then they put me inside that tank to...what? Hurt me some more? Why did they do that? What did they want with me? It no longer mattered, it was all going to stop. No...that wasn't enough. They hurt me, did something to me, and they were going to pay. _Everyone was going to pay..._

With a scream that could've been mistaken for a wail of a banshee from the deepest parts of hell, I launched myself at the two men. One moment, I was still against the wall holding the shard out, the next moment I was right in front of one of them plunging the shard deep into his chest. He cried out and then made a gurgling noise as he collapsed to the floor, blood spurting out from his chest. Not wasting a second, I spun around and grabbed the other man right after he had started to scream at what I'd just done. Holding him by his head, I then preceded to bash it on the corner of the shelf as hard and as brutal as I could. After two hits, I heard something crunch and blood began to spray out, but I continued to pound his head against the shelf at least a couple dozen more times, literally grunting through clenched teeth with every hit. Finally, I stopped and let his limp body fall to the floor next to his partner.

I looked at the two dead men and then at my hands which were dripping wet with their blood. I knew that I should've felt some kind of emotion for killing them. Satisfaction, maybe? Regret? Instead, I felt...nothing. Nothing at all. Maybe I would feel something later, but for that moment all I cared about was getting out of that room, out of wherever I was, and away from these people.

I moved towards the door that the two men came in earlier, expecting it to open...and was surprised when I only succeeded in smashing my face against it when it didn't. Frustrated, scared, and with a slightly sore nose, I banged on the door a few times before figuring out that doing that probably wasn't the best way to open that kind of door, not to mention that the noise could draw unwanted attention. I needed to find some way of opening that door and hopefully escape without running into more people.

Looking over the door and the area around it, I quickly noticed a small panel to the right with a small slot with a red light near the top. I ran my hand along the panel, somehow knowing that it was a way to get the door to open. But how? I studied the panel, moving my finger over the slot. Did that have something to do with opening the door? Yes, I thought so. I needed to stick something into that slot, but it couldn't be just anything. It wouldn't work like that. I needed a...a...keycard? Was that what it was called? It seemed right, but where do I get one of those?

The two men who came into the room probably needed one to enter. I moved back to the bodies and searched them. The second man had a small, white flat object hanging on his belt. I pulled it off him and looked at it. Was that what I needed? It looked like it, but there was only one way to be sure. I went back to the panel and inserted it into the slot. There was a beeping noise, the red light turned green, and the door slid open. I was finally free of the room, but far from being free from the place I was in. There had to be a way out.

I cautiously peered out of the doorway and looked down both ends of the wide, dimly lit corridor. It was totally deserted. I also listened carefully for the slightest footsteps or any other noises, but I didn't hear a single thing. That was good, but I was in no way out of danger. The next question was how exactly do I get out of that place. There was nothing that indicated the way out. There were a number of doors that lined the corridor, and any one of them could be the exit. I figured that probably just following the corridor could most likely lead me out. Again, I looked in both directions. Which way do I go? Both ways had an equal chance at that point, but I had to make a decision right then. Every moment I was just standing there was increasing my chances of being discovered. My instincts were telling me to go right, and I instantly followed them and headed in that direction.

I moved down the corridor in a light jog, the coolness of the air and the sounds of my bare feet echoing off the walls reminding me that I was still only in my underwear. Any other time, finding clothing probably would've been my first priority, but right then the only thing on my mind was just escaping. Clothing would come later, although I certainly wouldn't deny putting some on if I came across any. About thirty seconds later, I came to a junction. Again, I looked down both paths. Again, I had to make a quick choice. Again, I chose right and moved once more.

I had only moved a few steps when I heard voices and loud footsteps in an adjacent corridor. I stopped dead in my tracks. It sounded like there were two of them, both men, and they would be upon me in a few seconds. I was completely exposed just standing there in the middle of the corridor. Luckily, there was a door immediately to my left. I quickly moved to it and noticed a button next to it. I pressed it, hoping it would open. It did and I ran through it and shut it behind me. I then moved to the side and pressed myself against the wall in case they entered. I heard them moving towards the door, and then go past it without interrupting their conversation. They never knew I was there, and I let out the breath that I didn't even know I was holding.

I took that moment to look at where I was hiding out. It was a room about half as big as the room I was in earlier. There were desks and workbenches with equipment on them. Along the back wall were large lockers. The room was also empty of people, which was extremely fortunate because I ran into it without even considering the possibility that it could've been inhabited as well, maybe far more than just those two men, and that would've most likely been the end of my escape attempt.

Turning my gaze to the lockers, I wondered if there was anything in them I could use. I went over to them and opened the first one on the left. There were some supplies in there, but nothing that would be useful to me. I then opened the second one and saw that it was empty. The third one, however, had a long white jacket and a pair of black boots. As I mentioned, clothing wasn't a real priority at that moment, but I wasn't going to pass them up, so I took them out of the locker and put them on. I now looked somewhat modest at least. I searched the last two lockers but there was nothing more in them.

I decided that I wasted enough time and had to get moving again. I opened the door and looked out to see if it was safe to go. The corridor was clear and I continued with my escape. My newly pilfered boots were making more noise than my previously bare feet, so I tried to minimize my footsteps as best as I could. A few moments later, I rounded a curve in the corridor, and almost had to slide to a stop as I immediately came face-to-face with a shut door. To the right of it was the same panel as in the room that I escaped from. I still had the card with me and I put it into the slot, causing the door to open.

The next room was wide but not very big lengthwise. However, the room was definitely not empty. Directly in front of me was a large desk, and sitting at that desk was a large man wearing orange, yellow, and black clothing. He had his back towards me and could not identify me.

"Is that you, Sardis?" he spoke, just starting to turn around in his chair. "I thought the base staff meeting wasn't-"

That was all he ever got out. The moment I saw the man, my survival instincts overrode my escaping ones, and before he turned completely around, I was already upon him with my arms wrapped around his head and neck. He made a sound of surprise and his hands flew up to grip my arms to try to break the headlock. It was no use as I already had the leverage, and a second later I twisted his head hard to the right and heard the bones in his neck snap. He instantly went limp in my arms and I finally let go, his lifeless body falling out of the chair and onto the floor.

For the next minute or so, I just stood there and looked at the dead man. Again, I thought that I should be feeling something about killing my third person in five minutes. Still, I didn't have any real emotion towards that. Any emotion I thought I had was completely directed towards escape and avoiding detection, and nothing at all towards killing. Did I have to feel anything, though? Maybe I was just like that in general. Also, for all I knew, they were planning to do the same thing to me. There was no way to know for certain since I had no memories at all beyond that of the room I was in. I wanted to think more on that, but I knew it had to wait until I got clear of that place.

The only other way out of the room was a large split door in front of the door. I began to walk towards it, but I barely took a single step before it opened, revealing three more men in the same clothing. They were stepping out of what looked like some sort of lift. It was possibly my way out, but first I had to get past those men, who instantly saw me and what I had done.

"Hey, what in the hell?" one of them shouted in surprise.

Two of them were reaching for a long black stick on their belts while the third was raising his right wrist towards his mouth. I somehow knew that the third man was the immediate threat as he was possibly calling for help, and my body reacted instantly with almost no thought of my own. I vaulted onto the desk and then made a flying leap at the man, tackling him to the floor with an immediate punch to the face. I then lashed out with my right leg and kicked one of the men in the stomach as he was coming to help his partner. As he doubled over, I swung my leg out and knocked his feet out from under him. The third guy, who had the stick in his hand, a...stun baton, I think, came charging at me. I was quickly on my feet and ducked the swing he made at me with it. I then was able to hook one arm underneath his armpit and my free hand grabbed the hair on the back of his head, which I smashed into the closest wall. As he collapsed to the floor, I was able to grab the baton out of his hand.

The man who I had kicked was getting up, and he was reaching for another weapon on his hip. A blaster pistol. I knew they were lethal, and I knew that he was planning to use that function. If he was trying to kill me, then I had to return the favor. Right as he was raising the pistol, I charged him and swung the baton at his face. He ducked the move and again pointed the pistol in my direction. Before he could use it, I threw a right punch at him, which he ducked by moving his head down, right into my quickly rising knee. He crumpled to the floor, but I wasn't finished. As he was totally vulnerable, I smashed the baton against the side of his face, right on his temple. He quickly went still, but I bashed the baton into his face a few more times to be sure.

I got up and noticed the pistol on the floor almost next to me. I picked it up just as the man I punched in the face earlier was coming around. He groaned, rubbed his face, and started to sit up. He turned his head...and was greeted by the sight of my newly acquired weapon pointed directly at his nose. He froze and then raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay, I give up," he said. "Just don't kill me. I have a wife and children."

It would've been easy, so very easy, to just shoot him and move on. After all, I seemed to have no problem with killing already. I probably would've done that, too. However, for some reason, I stayed my hand, or my finger in this case. Why I did that, I didn't know. For some time, probably too long of a time, both of us just stayed in our spots and stared at each other, me with a blaster pistol pointed at his face, and him sitting on the floor with his hands in the air. It seemed less and less likely that I would kill him, although I still would if he tried anything. I couldn't just let him go, though. So what was I going to do? I took one very quick glance at the lift doors and then back at him.

"Up," I told him, motioning with the pistol as well. He slowly got to his feet. After he did so, I pointed to the doors. "Go."

He began to slowly walked towards the lift. I stayed behind him, my pistol at his back and my free hand gripping the back of his neck. He opened the doors and we stepped inside. Once there, I made a motion towards the nearby panel to indicate to him to get the lift moving. He pressed a couple of buttons and I felt the lift began to move upwards.

"I need to know, why?" he asked but didn't turn around. "Why do this? We were only helping you. We saved your life, and now you may have just ruined it."

I didn't say anything, but I was starting to understand a few things. The amazingly dense fog that seemed to be in my head since I broke out of the tank felt like it was starting to clear somewhat. That still didn't mean that I was completely figuring out everything. Maybe once I got clear from this place, _if _I got clear from this place, my mind would totally open up and things would start making sense. At that moment, the lift stopped moving and the doors opened up, revealing a night sky, a brightly lit tarmac stacked with cargo crates, and a raised landing pad on the far side, complete with a small cargo ship parked on it. Last, but certainly not least, there were at least a dozen or more people out there. It looked like the fight for escape, and my life, had begun as I was instantly spotted.

"Hey!" one of them shouted.

Wasting no time, I hit my captive in the back of his head with the grip of the pistol so he wouldn't be a problem, and then sprinted towards a large stack of crates, ignoring the pain in my leg as I did so. I heard more shouts and running footsteps headed in my direction. A blaring alarm then went off, basically alerting the entire place of my breakout. It was now or never if I wanted to escape, but how was that going to be possible if everyone was out for me?

That cargo ship on the pad seemed like it could work. But could I fly it? I was supposed to have been a freighter pilot, at least that was what I was told, but I couldn't remember anything. If I was able to get to it, could I figure out the controls? I would have to, because I had no time to think it over. It was get to the ship or be captured or killed.

I moved in the direction of the ship, my back against the crates to keep in the shadows. When I reached the end, I took a quick peek around them, saw that it was clear for the moment, and ran to the next stack. I made it to them without being seen. I could still hear the voices and footsteps, and it sounded like they had reached the spot I had previously been. I kept moving and continued to stay in the shadows.

As I neared the edge, I prepared myself to make a break for the next hidden spot. But before I could, two people appeared right in front of me. They were obviously as surprised seeing me there as I was of them. They appeared to be raising their weapons, and my body once again reacted. With lightning fast reflexes, my blaster was raised and the trigger pulled, shooting both in the chest. As their bodies fell to the ground with smoking holes in their chests, the other people instantly reacted to the noise.

"Over there! Move! Move!"

If they still meant to capture me before then, then that was gone now. If I wasn't hesitating to shoot to kill, then they certainly wouldn't. Hiding in the shadows did no good anymore. It would now be a running firefight to the ship. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then burst out from cover and sprinted full speed towards the ship.

"Hey, there she goes!"

"You, stop! Surrender now or we'll open fire!"

"She's headed for the ship! Stop her!"

I took a quick look over my shoulder and saw that at least eight of them were giving chase. I was just passing the halfway point when they began to shoot at me. Sizzling red bolts were flying past me and impacting the surface underneath me. Right as I made a turn that would give me a straight shot to the ship, a bolt hit me in my right side, causing me to cry out and tumble to the ground. Holding my side and wincing in pain, I managed to stumble over to a nearby wall that gave me cover. Almost in desperation, I pointed the blaster around the corner and fired without looking, hoping that it would keep my pursuers at bay while I recovered. As I did so, a male voice was broadcast across the area.

"_This is General Tacaram. The individual known as Solara Kastran has escaped containment from the medical center and is at large. Multiple casualties are confirmed. As such, she is to be considered armed and hostile and I am authorizing use of lethal force to stop this threat. Capture alive if possible, terminate if necessary."_

I risked a peep around the corner and saw one man running towards a position that would put me in danger. To protect myself, I fired at him, and one of the shots hit him directly in the face, completely destroying it. More shouting followed.

"Shit! Man down! Man down!"

"Dammit! All units, take her down now! Shoot to kill!"

I knew I had to move immediately, so I broke from the wall and continued to run to the pad that the ship was sitting on. Each step caused a jarring pain from my wound, but I didn't let it slow me down. Once again I looked behind me, and the men were once again giving chase, joined by a dozen more who were coming out of the lift. Before they could fire at me again, I had reached the steps that led up to the pad. There was a wall alongside the outer edge of the steps that momentarily protected me from the shot, and I used that chance to scramble up them to the top of the pad.

The ship was now right in front of me. Its cargo bay doors were wide open, indicating that they were still in the process of unloading it. I ran up to it and peered inside with my blaster raised. There was no one inside. I entered the ship and hit the nearby button to close the doors. After that, I made my way around some unloaded cargo and to the cockpit. Once there, I sat down into the pilot's seat and looked at the controls. As expected, the whole thing looked unfamiliar, but yet, for some reason, I knew what most of it did. It was very strange.

Almost automatically, my hands were hitting a few buttons and switches, and the ship began to power up. As its large engines began to whine with power, the men made it to the top of the pad and began shooting at the ship. The hull absorbed the shots, but wouldn't stand up for long against that kind of punishment. I knew that these ships were supposed to have some kind of defense against weapons. Looking at the various consoles, I noticed a pulsing blue button that wasn't doing that earlier. I pressed it and some kind of energy shield formed around the ship, completely deflecting the shots.

Moments later, several screens and indicators told me that the ship was at full power, and I pressed the engine throttles forward before remembering that I had to engage another set of engines that would make the ship rise from the pad first. As a result, the ship scraped along the pad and dipped as it left it but I was able to pull up and then speed towards the sky, and away from that place.

It was then that I felt another emotion, one that was very different from all the ones I felt earlier. This one was much more positive. I was thinking that it was happiness, and it made sense. In fact, I was so full of that happiness that I began to smile and then laugh. I had done it! I escaped from that place with my life, although I came through slightly worse for wear. As if on cue, a slight pain flared up from my blaster wound and caused me to wince. I was going to have to do something about that.

However, my happiness was short lived. Right as I was reaching the edge of space, a beeping noise came from one of the screens. Looking at it, I could see a fast moving green dot moving towards a white one in the center. It only took me a moment to realize that the white dot was my ship, and the green dot was another one. It had to be from that place. It figured that they weren't willing to let me go that easily. Just then, the radio in the cockpit crackled to life and a couple of voices were heard.

"_This is Talon 1 to Control. Airborne and closing on _Clipper Develian. _Requesting instructions, over."_

"_Talon 1, this is Control. Patching General Tacaram to the line. Standby."_

"_Talon 1, this is Tacaram. Give her one warning only. Force her down if possible. If she doesn't comply, then you are authorized to engage and destroy the target."_

"_Acknowledged. Going weapons hot. Talon 1 out."_

The voices stopped and I knew that I was running out of time. I also knew that my only chance of a true escape was to engage another engine, one that would take the ship past the speed of light. I just couldn't engage it right then, though. It wouldn't let me do that. I had to give it a destination first, to input that into a system.

That system was located right between the two seats. I needed a destination, but I didn't know any. But maybe that wasn't true. The two men that I first met mentioned the name of the place I was supposedly from. Deralia, wasn't it? It was something, and I reached over to put that into the system. However, about a second before touching the input panel, my hand stopped moving. There wasn't anything physically holding it back, but it was like I couldn't make my hand close that final distance. Why was that?

The radio crackled again. _"This is Talon 1 to _Clipper Develian. _You are ordered to return to the facility immediately and surrender to base personnel. This will be your only warning. You have twenty seconds to comply. Failure to do so will result in your immediate destruction."_

I had no more time, and I needed to do something. Deciding to try and find a new destination, my hand was able to move once more. Pushing a couple of buttons, some kind of map came up on the screen, a map of the...galaxy? A blinking dot appeared, showing my position on the map. I figured that my real chance of getting away was to get as far as I possibly could from these people. The best spot to go looked like it was directly opposite of where I was, on the edge of this galaxy. Wasting no time, I put that destination into the system, and it beeped in confirmation.

Now I could engage that light speed engine. I reached down and pushed a large lever forward. The stars in front of me turned into millions of bright streaks, then they snapped back and swirled together into a tunnel of swirling blue light.

It was then that I let out a sigh of relief and began to relax. I had now truly escaped that place, and was really free, free to try to figure out what happened to me, free to try and clear my mind, and free to try to start a new life.

However, as I was headed towards some unknown destination at the edge of the galaxy, the only question was, what exactly did I want my new life to be?


End file.
